Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

85 reviews

lady_valhella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book is like an anthology of short stories. Some are interesting, some are intense but they are all a bit strange. One was especially hard to follow so i skipped it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness

jess_18's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I definitely thought the first short story ‘husband stitch’ was the best, it was upsetting but written very well. Some of the stories went over my head a bit but I think they were all good and told an interesting narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Emotional abuse

devin_raquel's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Eating disorder

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Her Body And Other Parties taps into the horror of being seen as a woman - and emphasizes it with a fine and careful touch of the surreal. Thought-provoking and cerebral, Machado doesn't hold back on displaying the female body in all its gory glory. It is unsettling and horrifying, but in a very real and relatable way - there are no jumpscares here, only uncomfortable truths. Like all short story collections, I liked some of the stories more than others (I enjoyed "Inventory" and "Especially Heinous" the most) though they are all worth a read, as every story in this collection churned in my mind for days after reading it. I can't wait to see what Machado writes next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Alcohol, Animal death, Vomit, Death, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Eating disorder, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, and Sexual harassment

-Explicit description of a flu-like illness. -Explicit description of popping pimple-like welts.

jialianyang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A haunting book about queer women. They are from different backgrounds, telling their experiences in various ways. It is like stepping into another's mind over and over. This is a book where you must be ok with being sad, confused, desiring, hurting, haunted, lost. The women are not the side characters here, but they are also not always in control. Disorienting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicide, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Bullying, and Vomit

Moderate: Colonisation, Chronic illness, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Toxic relationship

mirnda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Mental illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Gore, Medical content, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, and Sexual assault

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Abortion, Body horror, Blood, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault

illtakethenightshiftx's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This short story collection will take you on a wild ride. These stories are a mix of horror, magical realism, and fantasy and if you aren’t a fan of those elements, you may not enjoy this collection. These stories are beautifully written and Machado creates gorgeous tapestries from her writing and characters. I think this is a collection I’ll revisit in the future.

Notable stories: “Real Women Have Bodies,” “The Resident,” “Difficult at Parties” 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Sexual content

lexihworth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, and Alcohol

the_harlequin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Rape, Fatphobia, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence